Last year, the Cal rugby team lost to Cal Poly in a historic upset. On Saturday, the Bears shredded any suspicions of it happening again.
With its biggest matchup of the year looming next weekend, Cal came out with its strongest performance of the young season, dominating an upstart Cal Poly squad for all 80 minutes in a 112-7 win at Witter Field.
“We took a big step forward today,” said senior Anthony Lombardo. “They beat us last year, so we really wanted to come out and prove something.”
Having come off a string of embarrassing losses to the Bears, the Mustangs asked Cal coach Jack Clark to play a team of reserves against the Cal Poly varsity in last year’s matchup. The result was a 22-20 upset, snapping the Bears’ 63-game win streak and handing them their first loss in nearly three years.
The Mustangs probably wish Clark had played his reserves again on Saturday.
Cal (9-0) came out of the gate looking polished against an overmatched Cal Poly squad, nabbing two tries in the first five minutes and seven more over the course of the first half. The Bears ran the score up to 51-0 at halftime through a combination of brute strength, agility and deft downfield kicking.
“We had some really slick ballhandling moments,” Clark said. “I think when we play fast and we play skillfully, we’ve got a lot of rugby skill on the team.”
Even when the Bears made mistakes, they showed an ability to recover and limit the damage. In extra time at the end of the first half, Cal Poly (4-1) found a hole in the Cal defense and took the ball within a couple of meters of the Bears’ tryline.
But the Mustangs couldn’t push it through, fumbling away possession as a crowd of Bears converged on the ballcarrier.
“We get this sense that no one’s going to score (on us),” Lombardo said. “We came together pretty well, and we fought hard to keep them on the goal line a couple of times.”
Cal Poly would eventually push through a try midway through the second half — the first time any team has scored on the Cal varsity at home this season. But by then, the game was already far out of reach.
The Bears hit the century mark for the third time this season — each of which has taken place at Witter Field since its reopening two weeks ago.
“Each week, we’re taking steps in the right direction,” said junior Jake Anderson. “That’s the most important thing, to show improvement each week. And I think we’re doing that so far.”
It wasn’t all good news on Saturday. Leg injuries to seniors Danny Barrett and Ahmed Chehade muted the postgame celebrations somewhat. The extents of their injuries are unknown.
But the Bears’ depth is perhaps their greatest asset. Cal also took down the Mustangs in the reserve-grade match, 133-0.
“It’s too early to celebrate much,” Clark said. “Except that we’re in pretty good form. And we’re improving.”
Chris Yoder covers rugby. Contact him at